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Get the right people on the company busKay Plantes
Here at home, Peder Moren, a developer and co-owner of a gas station on Atwood Avenue, meets a creative, entrepreneurial restaurant manager, Monty Schiro. Their partnership, Food Fight Inc., has birthed an eclectic array of independent Madison-area restaurants with top-of-mind brand awareness such as Monty's Blue Plate Diner, Johnny Delmonico's, Hubbard Avenue Diner and Ocean Grill. Food Fight provides human resources, marketing, coaching, and financial capital and services to the individual restaurants. How does Food Fight buck probabilities in an industry fraught with failures? The answer lies in two of the practices Jim Collins, author of "Good to Great," uncovered in industry leaders. Collins' first element is getting the right people on the bus. Schiro and Moren drive the bus. Their partnership works because of complementary skills and mutual respect. Moren, a financial pro, loves to create; business considerations come naturally to Schiro, son of an entrepreneur. Their shared core value is doing what is right and fair for customers and employees, and their own integrity. Joining them on the bus are ambitious culinary talents who naturally think and act as owners. One example is Kevin Tubb, the chef-songwriter talent behind Eldorado Grill. He recently transformed Luna Caff�, a failure after six managers in 16 months, into Tex Tubb's Taco Palace, a from-the-start success. Collins' second element is defining your company's hedgehog, the combination of three strategic elements -- what you're passionate about; what you'll excel at; and your financial driver -- that competitors will be unable to copy. Food Fight's passion is giving people opportunity and stability. Finding talent and committing to their success is near and dear to Schiro's and Moren's hearts. For many workers, the restaurant business is a stopping point. "Food Fight offers the stability that an independent restaurant lacks, with creative autonomy missing in the chains," Schiro shared. The combination succeeds "because we're empathetic, but rock solid in the performance of the business. The success creates the stability," Moren added. Food Fight excels at executing a creative concept across a restaurant's look and ambiance, cuisine and service. Every detail of Johnny Delmonico's speaks elite steak house, from round mahogany columns to a mirrored bar perfect for sipping martinis to its mouth-watering entrees and side dishes. At Monty's Blue Plate Diner, a stable array of friendly servers provides the welcoming atmosphere that a diner promises. Fresco's artistically presented local-harvest cuisine and contemporary setting naturally complement the spectacular roof-top sculpture garden at Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Each restaurant's financial driver is a large target market within a two-mile radius coupled with clients who return often. Pasta per Tutti was a destination restaurant that people occasionally selected. Its replacement, Luna Caff�, failed to keep customers coming back. Tex Tubb's Taco Palace offers every-week cuisine diners love, which has transformed returns. Schiro and Moren seamlessly get the right people on their bus, advance their passion, enhance their excellence and achieve their financial driver. Because these interdependent elements can pull in different directions, lesser talent rarely succeeds along all four dimensions. "The business is the art," Moren said. "Food is our medium." Kay Plantes is a Madison economist, strategy consultant and executive educator. You can reach her at plantes@execpc.com with your best practice or question. plantes@execpc.com madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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